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The Center’s director James J. Heckman published a letter in the Washington Post Thursday in response to a new study that claims “that the cognitive gains of early-childhood education programs fade over time.” The study, Heckman writes, “ignores an overwhelming body of recent evidence documenting that so-called fadeout doesn’t exist.”

The Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Global Working Group is pleased to announce the winner of its first-ever dissertation prize, Eric Chyn. He submitted the dissertation “Moved to Opportunity: The Long-Run Effect of Public Housing Demolition on Labor Market Outcomes of Children.”

“The Life-cycle Benefits of an Influential Early Childhood Program,” a working paper by Center Director James Heckman, Jorge Luis García, and co-authors, was featured this week in a New York Times article on the importance of high-quality early childhood education. The article notes the multi-generational benefits of early childhood investment.

All childcare programs are not alike. New research by Center director James J. Heckman and co-authors provides evidence that low-quality childcare can actually have harmful effects on child development, particularly for boys. “Gender Differences in the Benefits of an Influential Early Childhood Program,” by Professor Heckman, Jorge Luis García, and Anna Ziff, also helps elucidate recent claims about the harm caused by childcare programs.